Process for coating substrates with aperture(s)

ABSTRACT

A coating method for a component with at least one aperture includes providing a component having at least one aperture formed in a surface thereof; additively manufacturing a hollow member on a portion of the surface to define a space above each aperture, the portion of the surface being adjacent to the aperture, the hollow member having an inner peripheral geometry complementary to a peripheral geometry at least one of aperture; applying at least one coating over the surface of the component and around hollow member to form an applied coating having an applied coating thickness; and removing at least a portion of the hollow member to make a top portion of the hollow member coplanar with the applied coating to expose the space through the applied coating; wherein a lower portion of the hollow member remains to define the space through the applied coating.

This application is a Divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/849,418 filed Apr. 15, 2022, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, theentire contents of which are fully incorporated herein.

BACKGROUND

The disclosure relates generally to methods for coating substrates. Inparticular, the present disclosure is directed to coating methods forselectively coating a substrate that includes apertures, and a coatedsubstrate that includes apertures formed by the coating methods.

When turbines are used on aircraft or for power generation, they aretypically run at a temperature as high as possible, for increasedoperating efficiency. Since high temperatures can damage the alloys usedfor the components, a variety of approaches have been used to raise theoperating temperature of metal components. One approach calls for theincorporation of internal cooling channels in the component, throughwhich cool air is forced during engine operation. Apertures or coolingholes can be formed in the substrate by techniques such as water jetprocessing and/or electrical discharge machining (EDM). Cooling air(usually provided by the engine's compressor) is fed through the holesfrom the cooler side to the hot side of a component wall. As long as theholes remain clear, the rushing air will assist in lowering thetemperature of the hot metal surface and preventing melting or otherdegradation of the component.

Another technique for protecting the metal parts and effectively raisingthe practical operating temperature involves the use of a coating, suchas a bond coat, a thermal barrier coating (TBC) or environmental barriercoating (EBC). A TBC is usually ceramic-based. Coating systemsfrequently also include a bond coat which is placed between the ceramiccoating and the substrate to improve adhesion. Use of TBCs inconjunction with cooling holes is sometimes an effective means forprotecting an engine part. However, incorporation of both systems can bevery difficult. For example, cooling holes sometimes cannot be formed inthe engine part after a TBC has been applied, since lasers usuallycannot effectively penetrate both ceramic material and metal to form thepattern of holes and may possibly crack a TBC. If cooling holes areformed prior to the application of a coating system, they may becomecovered and at least partially obstructed when a coating is applied.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

A first aspect of the disclosure provides a coating method for acomponent with at least one aperture. The coating method includesproviding a component having at least one aperture formed in a surfacethereof; additively manufacturing a hollow member on a portion of thesurface to define a space above each aperture, the portion of thesurface being adjacent to the aperture, the hollow member having aninner peripheral geometry complementary to a peripheral geometry atleast one of aperture; applying at least one coating over the surface ofthe component and around the hollow member to form an applied coatinghaving an applied coating thickness; and removing at least a portion ofthe hollow member to make a top portion of the hollow member coplanarwith the applied coating to expose the space through the appliedcoating; wherein a lower portion of the hollow member remains to definethe space through the applied coating.

A second aspect of the disclosure provides a coated component. Thecomponent includes a surface; at least one aperture formed in thesurface; a coating layer on the surface, the coating layer including: atleast one hollow member additively manufactured on the surface extendingfrom the surface to a top surface, each hollow member defining a spaceabove a respective one of the at least one aperture, a perimeter of thehollow member being coincident with each at least one aperture andhaving an inner peripheral geometry complementary to a peripheralgeometry the respective one of the at least one of the aperture; acoating material sprayed on the surface and around the hollow member,the coating material having a top surface coplanar with a portion of thehollow member after portions of at least one of the hollow member isremoved.

All aspects, examples and features mentioned below can be combined inany technically possible way.

An aspect of the disclosure provides a coated component, with thecomponent comprising a surface; at least one aperture formed in thesurface; a coating layer on the surface, wherein the coating layerincluding at least one hollow member on the surface extending from thesurface to an outer surface of the coating layer, each hollow memberdefining a space above a respective one of the at least one aperture, aperimeter of each hollow member being coincident with a perimeter of arespective one of the at least one aperture and having an innerperipheral geometry complementary to an inner peripheral geometry of therespective one of the at least one aperture; a coating material on thesurface and around the at least one hollow member, the coating materialhaving a top surface coplanar with a portion of the at least one hollowmember.

Another aspect of the disclosure includes any of the preceding aspects,and the coating material includes at least one of a thermal barriercoating composition, an environmental barrier coating composition, or abond coat composition.

Another aspect of the disclosure includes any of the preceding aspects,and the at least one hollow member includes at least one of a thermalbarrier coating composition, an environmental barrier coatingcomposition, or a bond coat composition.

Another aspect of the disclosure includes any of the preceding aspects,and the at least one hollow member is formed with the respective one ofthe at least one aperture.

Another aspect of the disclosure includes any of the preceding aspects,and the at least one hollow member is formed by additively manufacturingthe at least one hollow member on the surface and extending from thesurface to an outer surface of the at least one hollow member.

Another aspect of the disclosure includes any of the preceding aspects,and the at least one hollow member includes an inner periphery alignedwith an outer perimeter of the respective one of the at least oneaperture.

Another aspect of the disclosure includes any of the preceding aspects,and the at least one aperture defines an axis disposed at anon-perpendicular angle to the surface, and a respective at least onehollow member is coaxial with an axis of the at least one aperture.

Another aspect of the disclosure includes any of the preceding aspects,and the component is a turbomachine component.

Another aspect of the disclosure includes any of the preceding aspects,and the at least one hollow member includes a ceramic material selectedfrom a group including at least one of aluminum-oxide, zirconium-oxide,hafnium-oxide, yttria-stabilized zirconium-oxide, metallic material,silicon based material, graphite, aluminum oxide, yttria-stabilizedzirconia.

Another aspect of the disclosure includes any of the preceding aspects,and the coating material includes a ceramic material selected from agroup including at least one of aluminum-oxide, zirconium-oxide,hafnium-oxide, yttria-stabilized zirconium-oxide, metallic material,silicon based materials, graphite, aluminum oxide, or yttria-stabilizedzirconia.

Another aspect of the disclosure includes any of the preceding aspects,and an inner periphery of the at least one hollow member aligns with anouter perimeter of the at least one aperture to define a coplanartransitional surface.

Another aspect of the disclosure includes any of the preceding aspects,and the coating material is applied by spraying the coating materialwith a spray gun disposed at an angle to the at least one aperture.

Two or more aspects described in this disclosure, including thosedescribed in this summary section, may be combined to formimplementations not specifically described herein.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objectsand advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, andfrom the claims.

The illustrative aspects of the present disclosure are designed to solvethe problems herein described and/or other problems not discussed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of this disclosure will be more readilyunderstood from the following detailed description of the variousaspects of the disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings that depict various embodiments of the disclosure, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a component of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a process according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a component of FIG. 1 including aplurality of apertures with hollow members formed thereon according tothe present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a component of FIG. 1 including aplurality of apertures with hollow members and coating formed thereonaccording to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a component of FIG. 1 including aplurality of apertures with hollow members and coating formed thereonwith portions of hollow members removed according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a component according to another aspect ofthe present disclosure including a plurality of apertures with hollowmembers formed thereon according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a component according to another aspect ofthe present disclosure including a plurality of apertures with hollowmembers and coating formed thereon according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a component according to another aspect ofthe present disclosure including a plurality of apertures with hollowmembers and coating formed thereon with portions of hollow membersremoved according to the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a spray apparatus with a componentaccording to the present disclosure.

It is noted that the drawings of the disclosure are not to scale. Thedrawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of the disclosure,and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of thedisclosure. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elementsbetween the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As an initial matter, in order to clearly describe the currenttechnology, it will become necessary to select certain terminology whenreferring to and describing relevant components within turbines. To theextent possible, common industry terminology will be used and employedin a manner consistent with its accepted meaning. Unless otherwisestated, such terminology should be given a broad interpretationconsistent with the context of the present application and the scope ofthe appended claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat often a particular component may be referred to using severaldifferent or overlapping terms. What may be described herein as being asingle part may include and be referenced in another context asconsisting of multiple components. Alternatively, what may be describedherein as including multiple components may be referred to elsewhere asa single part.

In addition, several descriptive terms may be used regularly herein, andit should prove helpful to define these terms at the onset of thissection. These terms and their definitions, unless stated otherwise, areas follows. As used herein, “downstream” and “upstream” are terms thatindicate a direction relative to the flow of a fluid, such as theworking fluid through the turbine engine or, for example, the flow ofair through the combustor or coolant through one of the turbine'scomponent systems. The term “downstream” corresponds to the direction offlow of the fluid, and the term “upstream” refers to the directionopposite to the flow. The terms “forward” and “aft,” without any furtherspecificity, refer to directions, with “forward” referring to the frontor compressor end of the engine, and “aft” referring to the rearward orturbine end of the engine.

It is often required to describe parts that are disposed at differingradial positions with regard to a center axis. The term “radial” refersto movement or position perpendicular to an axis. For example, if afirst component resides closer to the axis than a second component, itwill be stated herein that the first component is “radially inward” or“inboard” of the second component. If, on the other hand, the firstcomponent resides further from the axis than the second component, itmay be stated herein that the first component is “radially outward” or“outboard” of the second component. The term “axial” refers to movementor position parallel to an axis. Finally, the term “circumferential”refers to movement or position around an axis. It will be appreciatedthat such terms may be applied in relation to the center axis of theturbine.

In addition, several descriptive terms may be used regularly herein, asdescribed below. The terms “first”, “second”, and “third” may be usedinterchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are notintended to signify location or importance of the individual components.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components but do not preclude the presence or addition of one ormore other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof. “Optional” or “optionally” means that thesubsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, andthat the description includes instances where the event occurs andinstances where it does not.

Where an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,”“connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may bedirectly on, engaged, connected, or coupled to the other element orlayer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast,when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engagedto,” “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element orlayer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Otherwords used to describe the relationship between elements should beinterpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directlybetween,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein,the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more ofthe associated listed items.

As indicated above, the disclosure provides methods for coatingcomponents. In particular, the present disclosure is directed to coatingmethods for selectively coating a component that includes apertures, anda coated component that includes apertures formed by coating methods.

Referring to FIG. 1, in one embodiment, a component 100 includes anysuitable component having at least one aperture 109 formed therein. Inanother embodiment, component 100 includes any suitable component usedin applications that undergo temperature changes, such as, but notlimited to, power generation systems (e.g., gas turbines, jet turbines,and other turbine assemblies). Suitable illustrative components 100include, but are not limited to: a nozzle, a blade, a vane, a shroud, abucket, a transition piece, a liner, or a combination thereof. Aperture109 includes any opening formed in an external surface 102 of component100, such as, but not limited to: a cooling hole (e.g., a trench coolinghole, a diffuser shape cooling hole, a straight cooling hole, an angledcooling hole), an opening to provide fuel flow, or a combinationthereof, and other cooling hole configurations now known or hereinafterdeveloped.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, component 100 is illustratively shownas a turbine blade having an airfoil section 103, a platform section105, and a dovetail section 107. Airfoil section 103 has a plurality ofapertures 109 functioning as cooling holes formed therein.

In one embodiment, component 100 is fabricated from a high temperatureoxidation and corrosion resistant alloy with high temperature strength,such as a nickel-based, cobalt-based, or iron-based superalloy. Inanother embodiment, component 100 includes a coating 400 (FIG. 4)applied over an external surface 102 of the component. Coating 400 caninclude any suitable coating covering at least a portion of externalsurface 102 and/or providing protection (e.g., increased heat tolerance,increased corrosion resistance) to external surface 102, such as, butnot limited to, a bond coat, a thermal barrier coating (TBC), anenvironmental barrier coating (EBC), or a combination thereof, or othercoatings now known or hereinafter developed. Suitable examples of thebond coat include, but are not limited to: MCrAlX coatings, where M iscobalt, nickel, iron, or combinations thereof, X is an active element,such as yttrium (Y) and/or silicon (Si) and/or at least one rare earthelement or hafnium (Hf). Suitable examples of the TBC include, but arenot limited to, ceramic coatings such as zirconium oxide (ZrO₂), thecrystalline structure of which may be partially or completely stabilizedby adding yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃), aluminum-oxide, zirconium-oxide,hafnium-oxide, yttria-stabilized zirconium-oxide, metallic material,silicon based materials, graphite, aluminum oxide, yttria-stabilizedzirconia, and combinations thereof or other coatings now known orhereinafter developed. In general, an EBC system includes of two or morelayers (for example, a bond coat and/or a thermal barrier coat) ofcoating materials often rare earth or yttrium silicates, in which eachlayer serves a specific purpose. Thus, this disclosure will focus onapplication of a layer, as an EBC may contain layers (so addressing alayer will address a plurality of layers in an EBC) t.

Referring to FIGS. 2-5, in one embodiment, a first coating method 200includes providing component 100 (step 201) having aperture 109 formedin external surface 102 thereof, then additively manufacturing/printingat least one hollow member 300 (step 203) (FIG. 3) on a portion ofexternal surface 102 at aperture 109 to define a space 309 (FIG. 4)above aperture 109. After hollow member 300 is printed (step 203), atleast one coating is applied (step 205) over external surface 102 ofcomponent 100 and around hollow member 300 to form a layer of coating400 (FIG. 4) having an applied coating thickness 403 (FIG. 3).

Once coating 400 has been formed, a portion of hollow member 300 isremoved (step 207) to expose space 309 through coating 400 to aperture109. Alternatively, if desired and to reduce the overall thickness ofcoating 400, portion of coating 400 can be removed with removal of aportion of hollow member 300 (step 207), thus exposing space 309 throughcoating 400 to aperture 109 with the reduced coating thickness 410.

In one embodiment, hollow member 300 includes a geometry complementaryto aperture 109. Suitable complementary geometries for aperture 109 andhollow member 300 include, but are not limited to, tubular,semi-spherical, square, rectangular, cylindrical, elliptical,hour-glass, chevron, any other complementary geometry capable ofextending from external surface 102 at aperture 109 (e.g., in a planaror non-planar manner), or combinations thereof. For example, in oneembodiment, the geometry of hollow member 300 is complementary to adiffuser-shaped cooling hole.

Hollow member 300 is printed on external surface 102 of component 100with any suitable height for forming a space 309 coextensive withcoating 400 after step 207. Walls of space 309 are formed by the innerwalls of hollow member 300, which are essentially collinearly equal towalls of apertures 109.

For example, hollow member 300 is printed on component 100 externalsurface 102 around an aperture 109 to extend away from external surface102 of component 100 with a height greater than or equal to appliedcoating thickness 403 (see FIG. 3 or FIG. 5). Suitable coating thickness403 heights include, but are not limited to, up to about 2.5 millimeters(0.1 inch).

In another aspect, inner perimeter 310 and geometry of hollow member 300are aligned, equal to, and complementary to an outer perimeter 111 andgeometry of aperture 109. This configuration puts aperture 109 andhollow member 300 coaxial with each other. The configuration alsopermits a smooth linear transition from aperture 109 to hollow member300, essentially forming a coplanar transitional inner surface fromaperture 109 to hollow member 300.

Hollow member 300 is formed by any suitable 3-D printing process,printing process, or additive manufacturing processes (hereinaftercollectively “additive manufacturing processes”), such as, but notlimited to, a wide variety of processes of producing a component throughthe successive layering of material rather than the removal of material.As such, additive manufacturing can create complex geometries for hollowmember 300 without the use of any sort of tools, molds, or fixtures, andwith little or no waste material. Instead of machining hollow member 300from solid billets of material, much of which is cut away and discarded,the only material used in additive manufacturing is what is required toprint hollow member 300.

Additive manufacturing techniques typically include taking athree-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) file of the component tobe formed (here hollow member 300 on a build platform formed by externalsurface 102 of component 100), electronically slicing the component intolayers, e.g., 18-102 micrometers thick, and creating a file with atwo-dimensional image of each layer, including vectors, images, orcoordinates. The file may then be loaded into a preparation softwaresystem that interprets the file such that hollow member 300 can be builtby different types of additive manufacturing systems. In 3D printing,rapid prototyping (RP), and direct digital manufacturing (DDM) forms ofadditive manufacturing, material layers are selectively dispensed,sintered, formed, deposited, etc., to create the hollow member 300.

In powder additive manufacturing techniques, such as direct metal lasermelting (DMLM) (also referred to as selective laser melting (SLM)),powder layers are sequentially melted together to form the component.More specifically, fine powder layers are sequentially melted afterbeing uniformly distributed using an applicator on a powder bed. Eachapplicator includes an applicator element in the form of a lip, brush,blade, or roller made of metal, plastic, ceramic, carbon fibers orrubber that spreads the powder evenly over the build platform. Thepowder bed can be moved in a vertical axis. The process takes place in aprocessing chamber having a precisely controlled atmosphere. Once eachlayer is created, each two-dimensional slice of the component geometrycan be fused by selectively melting the powder. The melting may beperformed by a high powered melting beam, such as but not limited to, a100 Watt ytterbium laser, to fully weld (melt) the metal powder to forma solid. The melting beam moves in the X-Y direction using scanningmirrors and has an intensity sufficient to fully weld (melt) the powderto form a solid. The powder bed may be lowered for each subsequenttwo-dimensional layer, and the process repeats until the component iscompletely formed.

Referring again to FIGS. 2-5, after printing/additively manufacturinghollow member 300 (step 203), at least one coating 400 is applied (step205) over external surface 102 of component 100 by any suitableapplication method for forming coating 400 with applied coatingthickness 403. Suitable application methods include, but are not limitedto air plasma spray, high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) thermal spray, orelectron beam physical vapor deposition or other application method nowknow or hereinafter developed. During the application (step 205) of theat least one coating, orientation and geometry of hollow member 300 withrespect to the coating being applied (as described hereinafter) reducesor eliminates deposition of coating 400 material in any portion ofhollow member 300 (e.g., aperture 109 and space 309 (see FIG. 4)).

Once coating(s) 400 has been applied (step 205), upper portion 301 ofhollow member 300 may be removed (Step 207). Moreover, as noted herein,a portion of coating 400 can be optionally removed by any suitableremoval method to provide the desired coating thickness 403, if appliedcoating 400 (Step 205) is too thick. Thus, top surface 410 (FIG. 5) ofcoating 400 will be coplanar with the remaining portions of hollowmember 300, after removal. Suitable removal methods include, but are notlimited to machining, sanding, grit-blasting etching, polishing, or acombination thereof. For example, in one embodiment, the coating removalincludes polishing coating 400 with a diamond pad.

In one aspect of the disclosure, upper portion 301 (FIG. 4) of hollowmember 300 includes an upper geometry that differs from a lower geometryof lower portion 303. For example, hollow member 350 in FIG. 4 includesa rectangular printed upper section, which is merely illustrative andnot intended to limit the embodiments of the disclosure in any manner.This different upper geometry may be such that hollow member 300, ifopen at the end remote from aperture 109 (see hollow member 320 in FIG.4 with open end 321) is configured to exclude coating 400 from enteringhollow member 300. With printing/additively manufacturing the hollowmember 300, upper portion 301 can be closed (see hollow member 330 inFIG. 4), or open to a degree resisting entry of coating 400, especiallyif coating 400 is sprayed.

Furthermore, as discussed herein, lower portion 303 geometry may conformto the geometry of aperture 109, and upper geometry 301 may confirm tothe geometry of aperture 109 or include any other configuration or shapeextending from lower portion 303. For example, and in no way intended tolimit the disclosure, hollow member 300 at lower portion 303 may includea conforming geometry to a circular aperture 109 transitioning to anellipsoid geometry in upper portion 301 extending away from externalsurface 102.

When upper portion 301 is removed (step 207) parts of upper and lowerportions 301, 303 remain to define space 309, as shown in FIG. 5. In oneembodiment, the geometry of the space 309 includes, but is not limitedto: cylindrical, spherical, square, rectangular, domed, oblong,trapezoidal, curved, straight, skewed, irregular, any other shapepermitting flow therethrough, or a combination thereof.

A further aspect of the disclosure includes printing/additivelymanufacturing angled hollow members 500 in conjunction with angledapertures 102 (including but not limited to those used for film coolingturbine components), as illustrated in FIGS. 6-8. Like referencecharacters are used for like elements.

In FIGS. 6-8, angled hollow members 500 are printed on a portion ofexternal surface 102 at angled aperture 109 to define a space 509 aboveangled aperture 109, usually oval or ellipsoid given the intersectingaperture 109 at surface 102. As in the above embodiments, angled hollowmember 500 includes a geometry complementary to aperture 109. Also,inner perimeter 510 and geometry of angled hollow member 500 can beequal to and complementary to an outer perimeter 111 and geometry ofangled aperture 109 at surface 102. Accordingly, angled aperture 109 andangled hollow member 500 essentially form a coplanar transitionalsurface from angled aperture 109 to hollow member 500, and hollow member500 is essentially collinear with walls of angled apertures 109.

Hollow member 500 is printed on external surface 102 of component 100with any suitable height for forming a space 509 with the to-be-appliedcoating 400. Walls of space 509 are formed by the inner walls of hollowmember 500, with walls of space 509 essentially collinear to walls ofapertures 109.

Hollow member 500 is printed (in any suitable printing or additivemanufacturing process as described above) on component 100 externalsurface 102 around angled aperture 109 to extend away from externalsurface 102 of component 100 at an angle coincident with the angle ofaperture 109. This configuration puts aperture 109 and hollow member 500coaxial with each other. As above, hollow member 500 has a heightgreater than or equal to the applied coating thickness 403.

After printing/additively manufacturing hollow member 500, at least onecoating 400 is applied over external surface 102 of component 100 by anysuitable application method for forming coating 400 with applied coatingthickness 403. During the application of coating(s) 400, the orientationand geometry of hollow member 500 being angled with respect to anapplicator/sprayer of coating material reduces or eliminates coatingmaterial on or in aperture 109 and space 509. When upper portion 501 isremoved as in FIG. 8, parts of upper and lower portions 501, 503 remainto define space 509. Thus, top surface of coating 410 is coplanar withthe remaining portions of hollow member 500, after removal. Moreover, ifneeded to achieve a desired coating thickness 403, removal of someportion of coating(s) 400 can occur with removal of hollow member 500.

With respect to a process for applying coating 400, as discussed above,coating(s) 400 is applied over external surface 102 of component 100 byany suitable applicator/sprayer and application method for formingcoating 400 with applied coating thickness 403. One suitable applicationmethod, as noted above, is by spraying coating(s) 400.

With any of the embodiments herein, a spraying coatingapplicator/sprayer may include a spray gun with a spray head that can bedisposed at an angle with respect to apertures 109 in component 100. Anangled spray head is effective to reduce spray entering aperture 109, asangles of aperture 109 (including those essentially orthogonal tosurface 102) and of hollow members 300, 500 and may not align with thespray, thus spray should not directly enter apertures 109. Moreover, asapertures 109 are provided with printed hollow members 300, 500, angledspray heads can provide enhanced coverage between apertures 109 andhollow members 300, 500. With hollow members 300, 500 any spray andcoating(s) 400 should be kept from entering apertures 109, which enablesmore efficient and effective consumption of coating without wasted sprayin apertures 109 needing to be removed and scrapped.

FIG. 9 illustrates this aspect of the embodiments with spray gun 550having an angled spray head 555. Moreover, angled spray head 555 can bean adjustable angled spray head 555 to move its orientation to surface102 between 0 degrees (orthogonal to surface 102) to almost 90 degreesor almost parallel to surface 102. As is illustrated, angled spray head555 can have a direct line of spray in-between printed hollow members,as shown for a set 500A of hollow members, or have an offset line ofspray in-between printed hollow members, as shown for a set 500B ofhollow members. One desirable angle is about 20 degrees from orthogonal,however that angle is not intended to limit the embodiments in anymanner. With hollow members 300, 500 spray and coating are kept fromentering apertures 109, which enables more efficient and effectiveconsumption of coating without wasted spray in apertures 109 needing tobe removed and scrapped.

One advantage of an embodiment of the present disclosure includesmaintaining original shape and dimension of apertures or cooling holesin coated components. Another advantage of an embodiment is bettercontrol of airflow for coated components. Yet another advantage isfaster processing of coated components. Another advantage of anembodiment is decreased time for cleaning of cooling holes aftercomponents are coated or recoated. Yet another advantage includessignificant labor savings because no drilling is required to clearcooling holes after coating.

Components of the present disclosure can be used in any applicationsthat undergo temperature changes, such as, but not limited to, powergeneration systems which include, but are not limited to gas turbines,steam turbines, jet turbines, and other turbine assemblies. Moreover,embodiments of the present disclosure, in comparison to coating methodsnot using one or more of the features disclosed herein, increase coatingefficiency, provide apertures through a coating without post-coatingclearing, increase control of airflow for coated components, decreasecoating cost, decrease coating time, decreased time for cleaningapertures after coating components, or a combination thereof.

The foregoing drawings show some of the processing associated accordingto several embodiments of this disclosure. In this regard, each drawingor block within a flow diagram of the drawings represents a processassociated with embodiments of the method described. It should also benoted that in some alternative implementations, the acts noted in thedrawings or blocks may occur out of the order noted in the figure or,for example, may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or inthe reverse order, depending upon the act involved. Also, one ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that additional blocks thatdescribe the processing may be added.

Approximating language, as used herein throughout the specification andclaims, may be applied to modify any quantitative representation thatcould permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basicfunction to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a termor terms, such as “about,” “approximately” and “substantially,” are notto be limited to the precise value specified. In at least someinstances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision ofan instrument for measuring the value. Here and throughout thespecification and claims, range limitations may be combined and/orinterchanged; such ranges are identified and include all the sub-rangescontained therein unless context or language indicates otherwise.“Approximately” as applied to a particular value of a range applies toboth end values, and unless otherwise dependent on the precision of theinstrument measuring the value, may indicate +/−10% of the statedvalue(s).

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and the practical application, and toenable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosurefor various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A coated component, the component comprising: asurface; at least one aperture formed in the surface; a coating layer onthe surface, the coating layer including: at least one hollow member onthe surface extending from the surface to an outer surface of thecoating layer, each hollow member defining a space above a respectiveone of the at least one aperture, a perimeter of each hollow memberbeing coincident with a perimeter of a respective one of the at leastone aperture and having an inner peripheral geometry complementary to aninner peripheral geometry of the respective one of the at least oneaperture; a coating material on the surface and around the at least onehollow member, the coating material having a top surface coplanar with aportion of the at least one hollow member.
 2. The coated component ofclaim 1, wherein the coating material includes at least one of a thermalbarrier coating composition, an environmental barrier coatingcomposition, or a bond coat composition.
 3. The coated component ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one hollow member includes at least one ofa thermal barrier coating composition, an environmental barrier coatingcomposition, or a bond coat composition.
 4. The coated component ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one hollow member is formed with therespective one of the at least one aperture.
 5. The coated component ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one hollow member is formed by additivelymanufacturing the at least one hollow member on the surface andextending from the surface to an outer surface of the at least onehollow member.
 6. The coated component of claim 1, wherein the at leastone hollow member includes an inner periphery aligned with an outerperimeter of the respective one of the at least one aperture.
 7. Thecoated component of claim 1, wherein the at least one aperture definesan axis disposed at a non-perpendicular angle to the surface, and arespective at least one hollow member is coaxial with an axis of the atleast one aperture.
 8. The coated component of claim 1, wherein thecomponent is a turbomachine component.
 9. The coated component of claim1, wherein the at least one hollow member includes a ceramic materialselected from a group including at least one of aluminum-oxide,zirconium-oxide, hafnium-oxide, yttria-stabilized zirconium-oxide,metallic material, silicon based material, graphite, aluminum oxide,yttria-stabilized zirconia.
 10. The coated component of claim 1, whereinthe coating material includes a ceramic material selected from a groupincluding at least one of aluminum-oxide, zirconium-oxide,hafnium-oxide, yttria-stabilized zirconium-oxide, metallic material,silicon based materials, graphite, aluminum oxide, or yttria-stabilizedzirconia.
 11. The coated component of claim 1, wherein an innerperiphery of the at least one hollow member aligns with an outerperimeter of the at least one aperture to define a coplanar transitionalsurface.
 12. The coated component of claim 1, wherein the coatingmaterial is applied by spraying the coating material with a spray gundisposed at an angle to the at least one aperture.